Scenes of chaos shook Hawaii this Wednesday, the archipelago American being plagued by many fires. Some residents jumped into the ocean to escape the fires, while others watched in terror as the flames surrounded the vehicle they were fleeing in.
Fueled by strong winds, the fires on the islands of Maui and Hawaii have devoured homes and businesses, particularly in the tourist town of Lahaina, according to testimonies and videos circulating on social networks. The fires have killed at least six people, Maui Island Mayor Richard Bissen announced Wednesday.
“I am sad to report that, just before speaking, it was confirmed that there had been six deaths,” Bissen told a press conference, recalling that this assessment was only temporary, as search and rescue operations continued on the island.
According to Vice Governor Sylvia Luke, the hospital network in Maui was “overwhelmed” by patients suffering from burns or having inhaled smoke. “We are already in contact with other hospital networks to ease the burden,” she added on CNN. Contacted by AFP, his office was unable to specify the number of people affected.
911 no longer works in some areas
Complicating matters, the 911 emergency call service was not working in some affected areas. “911 doesn’t work. Mobile phone services don’t work (…) and that’s part of the problem. Maui County is unable to communicate with residents,” said Sylvia Luke.
The situation is “very serious and dramatic”, she added. Evacuations are “in progress”, she continued, without being able to say how many people were affected. The National Guard has been activated and was already assisting the police, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
War movie “
Faced with these dazzling fires, “people are jumping into the water to avoid the fires,” said a senior military official for the State of Hawaii, General Kenneth Hara, to the media Hawaii News Now. The Coast Guard says it rescued 12 people in the waters off Lahaina and is dispatching ships to Maui.
A witness interviewed by Hawaii News Now claimed that “all the boats in Lahaina Harbor (had) burned down.” “It looks like a movie, a war movie,” said Chrissy Lovitt. Tiare Lawrence, originally from Lahaina, said with emotion that she had not heard from her little brother or her stepfather.
“Apocalyptic” videos
“Everyone I know in Lahaina, their homes burned down,” she told Hawaii News Now, describing the videos she received as “apocalyptic.”
The fact that the fires were indirectly fueled by strong winds exacerbated by Hurricane Dora is “unprecedented” because these weather events usually bring rain and floods in Hawaii,” she explained. Almost 15,000 homes and businesses were without electricity in the archipelago, said the PowerOutage site.
2023-08-09 18:52:58
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